reading is a private act, private even from the person who wrote the book. Once the novel is out there, the author is beside the point. The reader and the book have their own relationship now, and should be left alone to work things out for themselves.

I am not mature enough as a reader to enjoy a book in which I hate all the people.

The idea I pursue is the one that keeps coming back to me. The characters I think about as I'm falling asleep at night or when I'm driving to the grocery store are the one's I wind up writing about.

Write because you love the art and the discipline, not because you're looking to sell something.

I certainly have written a lot about police in my life, and it's not only something that I know about, but always something that interests me.

That's important to me, to recommend books.

That's the way I work. I get it all plotted in my mind, and then I write it down.